June 10, 2025 • 59 mins
This week on The Black Perspective, Mike Eiland kicks things off with a conversation about homeownership in Ohio, sitting down with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to learn about new opportunities for first-time buyers across the state.
Morgyn Wood checks in from Washington, D.C., where she caught up with National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial at the historic House of Prayer to discuss the organization's mission and impact.
Andrea Coleman launches BIN’s new public awareness campaign, Saving Black Moms: A Maternal Health Crisis, by speaking with a medical expert who’s working on the frontlines to combat disparities in Black maternal health.
And Gracie Award winner Esther Dillard returns with The Color Between the Lines, sitting down with author Bellen Woodard to explore her latest work and how it offers a more inclusive lens on the world of dance.
Listen now!
Morgyn Wood checks in from Washington, D.C., where she caught up with National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial at the historic House of Prayer to discuss the organization's mission and impact.
Andrea Coleman launches BIN’s new public awareness campaign, Saving Black Moms: A Maternal Health Crisis, by speaking with a medical expert who’s working on the frontlines to combat disparities in Black maternal health.
And Gracie Award winner Esther Dillard returns with The Color Between the Lines, sitting down with author Bellen Woodard to explore her latest work and how it offers a more inclusive lens on the world of dance.
Listen now!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The opinion's beliefs and viewpoints expressed in this commentary are
those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of BN and its founding partners and employees.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm mo Kelly on the bin with your two minute warning.
Actor leon Isaac Kennedy has come out in support of
his friend of sixty years, Smokey Robinson, calling the allegations
against him preposterous. In his forty three minute posted video commentary,
he spoke to the attorneys on both sides of the
issue and detailed his long and close history with Robinson.
(00:32):
His friendship is admirable and his desire to serve as
a character witness understandable. But until and unless Kennedy can
offer direct testimony to contradict the allegations against Robinson, Kennedy
is respectfully irrelevant. Unless Kennedy can attest that he was
a witness to one, sum or any of the alleged
sexual assaults, he can't speak on anything other than he
(00:54):
and Smokey Robinson are close and nothing else. But Kennedy
used his forty three minutes to you also try to
deconstruct and delegitimize the accusations against Robinson, while also sharing
Robinson's supposed thoughts of the allegations.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
But I think it's important to share this one statement
that Smokey made as we were sitting watching the attorney's
press conference when it was over, Smokey said, rape, that's
such a violent, angry act. I've always believed that sex
should be mutually consensual and mutually enjoyed. Why would I
want that kind of energy?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
The question is not why would Robinson want that energy,
but more simply, did he do it? Why pose another
question instead of giving us the more meaningful answer, since
we're just asking questions about what would make more sense. Yes,
what has been alleged goes against what Kennedy believes he
knows about Robinson, but the allegations are not subject to
(01:51):
opinions of the unrelated or popularity of the accused. Smokey
Robinson is going to have to ride this out all
by himself. I'm O'Kelly at mister mo' kelly on social
media and at your two minute warning on the Black
Information Network.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It's Sunday, June eighth, and on today's show, I get
to start it off with a conversation with the Ohio
Housing Finance Agency and what new home buying opportunities they
have for Ohio residents. Morgan Wood talks to National Urban
League CEO Mark Marial at the House of Prayer in Washington,
d C. Andrea Coleman starts the Black Information that Works
(02:27):
public awareness campaign saving Black Moms a maternal health crisis
as she explores the issue with a medical professional and
who's working to address it. Gracie Award winner Esther Dillard
is back with her segment, The Color Between the Lines,
as she talks to Arthur Bellen Woodard and an inclusive
look into the world of dance. These stories and more
(02:50):
are coming your way on today's program. Welcome to the
Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Island.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly com unity affairs
program on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions
on issues important to the Black community.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. The
Ohio Housing Finance Agency partners locally with the Black Information
That Work in the state of Ohio to help the
dream of home ownership become a reality.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
And we are with John.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Dewey, single Family Relations program manager for the Ohio Housing
Finance agency.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
How are you doing doing great? Thanks for having me today.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Well, thanks for taking time to be with us. What
does the Ohio Housing Finance Agency do so?
Speaker 7 (03:35):
Our agency offers financial assistance programs to help home buyers
get into a home, and we offer a variety of
different programs like down payment assistance and lower interest rates
for those in public service careers.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
There's a lot of people they want to be homeowners,
but they don't have this type of information that you provide.
You have a lot of programs in there, and which
one is the most popular?
Speaker 7 (03:59):
Our most popular program is definitely the five percent your
choice down payment assistance, and that is five percent of
the purchase price towards down payment and closing costs. And
to giving an example, if somebody was purchasing a two
hundred thousand dollars house and they were getting our five
percent down payment assistance, that would be ten thousand dollars
(04:20):
towards their down payment and closing costs.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
That's a pretty generous amount that helped a lot of
people get started.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Can you tell us about the Ohio Heroes program for
people in public service careers? We don't hear much about that.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
The Ohio Heroes program offers a slightly lower interest rate
than our standard mortgage interest rates, and it's for those
that work full time in a bunch of different occupations,
including veterans, active duty military, members of the reserve components.
Speaker 6 (04:51):
And this also includes.
Speaker 7 (04:53):
Police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, and then
physician nurse practitioners, nurses and then pre k through twelve teachers, administrators,
and counselors.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Our Heroes, our first responders are included in here and teachers.
Two of my favorite people we're talking with John Dewey.
He's the single family Relations program manager for the Ohio
Housing Finance Agency. They're working hard to give people into
a home, potential home buyers, and we're glad to have
them with us today. Now, those using the Ohio Heroes Program,
(05:30):
may they also be eligible for down payment assistance?
Speaker 7 (05:34):
Yes, they can combine the Hero's program with our down
payment assistance program.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
What is the potential home buyer's first step to see
if they qualify, because this is where the hardest part
is just getting started. Where do they start?
Speaker 7 (05:46):
Their first step is to go to our website, my
Ohio home dot org. Again, that's my Ohio home dot
org and they're going to contact one of our OPA
approved mortgage lenders and we have lenders that work all
throughout the state of Ohio. With one of those lenders
and they can prequalify you and let you know if
you qualify for our home buyer programs in downpayment assistance.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Now this is all through Ohio right correct.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Anywhere in the state of Ohio they can use their
programs the.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Ohio Housing Finance Agency getting home buyers into a home,
the many different programs. You can go to my Ohio
home dot org and get more information anything else you
want to add, mister doing.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
On our website, my Ohio home dot org.
Speaker 7 (06:28):
We have a bunch of really helpful information on the
basic steps of starting the home buying process. Are mortgage
lenders that are listed down there, and then all the
information on our home buyer programs.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Well, thank you for your time, and this is a
very valuable program Ohio Housing Finance Agency does and all
that can be done at my Ohio home dot org.
Thank you for your time today.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Absolutely thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed in this commentary are
those of the author and do not necessarily present those
of BN and its founding partners and employees.
Speaker 8 (07:04):
I'm James Harris, and I have something to say. Once again,
a young black life is lost, and once again the
media yawns. Eighteen year old Eva Moore was a standout,
a recent graduate of the US Air Force Academy prep school,
a young black woman who wasn't a TikTok star, wasn't
a rapper, and wasn't a justice involved youth. She was
(07:24):
a future leader, ready to serve this nation. She went
home to Texas for Memorial Day weekend. She went kayaking
and she was killed, slammed from behind by a jet
ski driven by a twenty two year old illegal alien
from Venezuela. That man didn't just kill Ava, he fled
the scene, ran like a coward, hitting two more vehicles
(07:46):
on his way out. He's now charged with manslaughter. But
here's what you won't hear in most media reports. Ava
was an American of African descent, she was military, and
she was killed by an illegal immigrant. You see, this
story breaks the narrative. The media loves to center black voices,
unless that voice would expose the disaster of our southern border.
(08:08):
Unless that voice undermines the every illegal is just here
for a better life fairy tale, unless that voice makes
the Biden administration look like the chaos agents they were.
This tragedy is a direct result of Joe Biden and
the Democrat's open borders. It didn't have to happen, But
when you prioritize political points over public safety, when you
(08:31):
trade sovereignty for sanctuary cities, this is the price, and
the silence from the left is deafening. No outrage, no
national mourning, no marches, no Al Sharpton, just another inconvenient
victim who doesn't help the narrative evermore. Was American. She
was erased by someone who never should have been here,
(08:53):
and by a political class that never learns. I'm James T.
Harris for the Black Information Network.
Speaker 9 (09:00):
Informed, empowered, and ahead of the curve with a BI
News This Hour podcast, updated hourly to bring you the
latest stories shaping the Black community, from breaking headlines to
cultural milestones. The Black Information Network delivers the facts, the voices,
and the perspectives that matter.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
Twenty four to seven.
Speaker 9 (09:19):
Listen to the BI News This Hour podcast on America's
number one podcast network. iHeart follow the BI News This
hour podcast and start listening on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Today the Black Information Networks. Morgan would recently sat down
with National Urban League CEO Mark Marial at the House
of Prayer in Washington, d C. He was in town
for the National Urban League's Empowerment Summit and Legislative Conference.
Morial spoke about the current political climate, and he pushed
the Main Street Tax Initiative, a bold plan with a
(09:53):
mission to lift communities out of poverty and stimulate economic growth.
Moriol also marked the anniversary of George Floyd's death with
the report titled George Floyd five years Later? Was it
a moment or a movement? Let's hear more from that conversation.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Talk to me.
Speaker 10 (10:09):
About this press run that you're on. You know, what
you hope to accomplish the event that you are doing
right now in Washington, DC, or the National Urban League
Power Summit or Empowerment Summit excuse me here, and what
that means to the National Urban League and what you
guys hope to take away from it and accomplish from that.
Speaker 11 (10:31):
Well, thanks for having me. This is a twenty second
year that we've.
Speaker 12 (10:35):
Brought urbanly local leaders, activists and young professionals to Capitol
Hill to engage with policy makers. So the Empowerment Summit
includes our Legislative Policy Conference, right, so we've kind of about.
Speaker 11 (10:50):
Forty five hundred people here.
Speaker 12 (10:53):
They'll be visiting Capitol Hill, they'll be engaging in discussions
around very.
Speaker 11 (10:57):
Important issues from policy.
Speaker 13 (11:00):
But an added feature this year is the release of
a new report.
Speaker 11 (11:05):
And we thought we had to meet the fifth year
since the murder of George Floyd with.
Speaker 12 (11:14):
An interpretation, with a report with what does this moment
mean beyond just rhetoric and conversation.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
So we in this report.
Speaker 12 (11:25):
Looked at two things which really defined that moment. It
was a moment where the nation in the world saw
Officer show Van squeeze the life out of an innocent
man with his knee. It was captured on video because
of the courage of Darnella Spencer, a young Darnella Fraser, sorry,
(11:48):
a courageous young black woman who used a twenty first
century device Conan and I for when he captured the
entire thing. So as they say, your eye didn't lie
to you, we all saw, and the world saw, and
the world reacted, and the response was commitments and an
(12:10):
awakening of justice. And racial reconciliation. So corporations made commitments.
Police reform took off with great energy and passion. So
we decided to look at those two things. Let's look
at the police reform movement from twenty twenty to the president.
(12:34):
Let's look at corporate commitments from twenty twenty to the presidente.
And here's what I said in twenty twenty, is this
a moment for our movie. Clearly for some they wanted
to be a moment. For some of us, it has
been a movement. And where we are today is all
(12:57):
of the commitments that we're made and now facing vigorous
and sometimes hateful back lags that are really really disappointing
and angering to a great extent.
Speaker 11 (13:12):
Because many thought that this was that moment when America
could turn the page on a permanent basis.
Speaker 12 (13:19):
What we're seeing now is that the backlash of he
trump Ism, the backlash of magaism, and the backlash of
racial anxiety and fear has now consumed and in some
cases it's caused companies to retreat.
Speaker 11 (13:39):
In other cases, you've got a new Justice.
Speaker 12 (13:42):
Department which has stood up and frozen all civil rights investigations.
Now comparing contrast that under President Biden, with Christian Clark
at the helm of the Civil Rights Division, one hundred
and eighty officers were convicted of police misconduct, twelve departments
(14:04):
were investigated, and systemic civil rights and constitutional violations. States
like Maryland, cities across the nation took the initiative to
begin to reform policing, banning choke holds, limiting no knock quarrants,
training and holding the office accomomy. So we had a
(14:27):
moment that we had a movement towards policial form. That
movement now is being met with the.
Speaker 11 (14:37):
Force of the new Justice Department, which is.
Speaker 12 (14:41):
Saying, no, we are not going to prosecute, we are
not going to enforce civil rights.
Speaker 11 (14:46):
So we think it's important on.
Speaker 12 (14:49):
That issue to say number one, the retreat is.
Speaker 11 (14:54):
Wrong, it's inconsistent with what's best for this nation.
Speaker 12 (15:00):
With two that on the corporate side, we have to
lift up some of those corporate leaders that have spoken
up in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion, in favor
of their commitment to black and their health.
Speaker 11 (15:13):
Jamie Diamond is one, Roger Jail is another. Now have
they been perfect?
Speaker 12 (15:20):
That's to say that this is not to say they'll
be perfect. It's to say they were. They've raised their
voice and said diversity, equal opportunity, equity. Reaching out to
the black community and other lockdown communities was important for
American business. Others cut and run were treated and went
(15:47):
in the other direction. So we've got to make sure
that people understand that.
Speaker 11 (15:53):
We've got to hold all.
Speaker 12 (15:55):
These institutions economy for the commitments that they made.
Speaker 10 (16:00):
Can you suggest the American people elected officials go about
doing that right now we're dealing with the president who
doesn't seem to.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Abide by the constitution.
Speaker 12 (16:13):
Number One, courage requires I teach.
Speaker 11 (16:19):
You my eyes and speak to say that one again.
Speaker 12 (16:21):
And I said, maybe they need to go see the
Wizard of Violence, like.
Speaker 11 (16:26):
The line deal and get that a little what courage
metal that the Wizard gave.
Speaker 12 (16:33):
Look, it's important this moment that leaders speak strongly and
forcefully about the values that they believe.
Speaker 11 (16:42):
That is what I'm going to do. That is what the.
Speaker 12 (16:44):
National reason continue to do, and to do it in
a forthright, unapologetic way to stand up. But also what
I want to emphasize is said when it comes to diversity.
Speaker 11 (16:58):
Equity and inclusion.
Speaker 12 (17:00):
Every poll of the American People shows that sixty seventy
in some cases eighty percent support the idea that American
business should look like America.
Speaker 11 (17:14):
The leadership of.
Speaker 12 (17:14):
American business should look like America, and an American business
should an American report should do more.
Speaker 11 (17:21):
That's consistent. The loudest voices in the room are not
their job. The loudest voices in the room may have power,
but just.
Speaker 12 (17:33):
Like David Faut Goliath, this is a moment for a
coalition of babies. This is a moment where we have
to speak up, we have to speak out, we have
to use whatever power we have. Activity National Early is
absolutely committed to this.
Speaker 11 (17:51):
We have no intention of yielding.
Speaker 12 (17:53):
We do have every intention of reaching out every segment
of the American people to advance the idea.
Speaker 11 (18:01):
That it is a fundamental American value.
Speaker 12 (18:04):
Everyone be included in the prosperity in this country, have
accessed the good jobs and pay good way to access
to housing, have access.
Speaker 11 (18:14):
Them to the corporate leadership, position.
Speaker 12 (18:15):
To have access them to boardrooms, have access to serve
in public office. So we've got to emphasize and in
this moment it is so simple to have courage.
Speaker 11 (18:29):
Our movement for transformation in this country from.
Speaker 12 (18:33):
A civil rights perspective, required the courage of Rosa Poms,
the courage of Further Marshall, the courage of John Lewis,
doctor King, Whitney, Youngs, Benny Neuhamer.
Speaker 11 (18:44):
I can name so many.
Speaker 12 (18:47):
People who are the public faces of the civil rights movement,
but that movement also had other faces.
Speaker 11 (18:57):
They were black, that were white, that were men, they
were women, they were many young people, older people.
Speaker 12 (19:02):
Faith leaders from a variety of faiths who stood up
because they believed that civil rights and equal opportunity were
an American value. I'm saying a black value, or a
white value.
Speaker 11 (19:17):
Or Hispanic or male or Republican or Democratic value, but
an American value.
Speaker 12 (19:21):
And that's what I'm encouraging people to stand up for
American values.
Speaker 11 (19:26):
The commitments made after George Floyd were really about moving
this country in a positive way past some of.
Speaker 12 (19:38):
The difficulty, the ugliness, discrimination, and the exclusion of the
passing into a much brighter day.
Speaker 11 (19:47):
We've got to continue to fight.
Speaker 12 (19:51):
Against these forces which want to turn the Clockmacks.
Speaker 10 (19:58):
Talk to me about of the necessary trouble. It seems like,
you know, you mentioned John Lewis, and you're talking about
having courage, how far should that courage go?
Speaker 11 (20:09):
So let's take a step back. You look at what
the last one hundred plus days that have brought.
Speaker 12 (20:15):
They've brought over two hundred lawsuits against various Trump era
executive orders.
Speaker 11 (20:21):
They've brought a wide range of.
Speaker 12 (20:25):
Public protests, peaceful assembly, and doctor William Barber is activating
on the federal budget with moral Mondays taking place once
a month here in the capital.
Speaker 11 (20:37):
Federally employees have been laid off, they have have rallied
and mobilized all across America's right. We mobilized.
Speaker 12 (20:49):
Most recently, we mobilized at the Smithsonian Museum with the
Freedom to Learn call to action, the Saint hands off
the Smithsonian, hands off our history. The State of the
People tour has been to Atlanta and New Orleans, and
I think this week in.
Speaker 11 (21:06):
North Carolina there are many many things happening at the
GRANTU yourself.
Speaker 12 (21:12):
This activation, this action has to include every organization, It
has to include every individual.
Speaker 11 (21:20):
We must understand this is bigger than the politics of
the commons.
Speaker 12 (21:25):
This is bigger than who will win the next election.
Although elections are crucial, elections are essential, elections are about power.
Speaker 11 (21:35):
Elections are about our voices being heard.
Speaker 12 (21:37):
This has got to go past the politics and elections.
I say the politics im mobilizing and shaping and activating
from opinion. That again's really an attack on the rule
of law, and really it's almost an effort to look
through one's rare view mirror and believe that the future.
Speaker 11 (21:59):
Is well.
Speaker 10 (22:01):
How do you suggest people go about rally You're saying,
we got to get all these organizations together and need
to be on one page. Right now, DEMS are dealing with.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Some challenges and leadership.
Speaker 10 (22:16):
There seems to be some split in the Democratic Party
in regards to how leadership should go about.
Speaker 11 (22:25):
How do you ride on?
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Organizations shouldn't be distracted.
Speaker 12 (22:31):
By the democratic leadership friction.
Speaker 11 (22:36):
There's this outside.
Speaker 12 (22:40):
Community right who may be voters, who may be participants,
who may vote for THEMS.
Speaker 11 (22:47):
We cannot wait for that leadership. Can't wait for it.
I can't wait for that leadership. We've got to bring
the leadership to the community. So through your bank based
organization or your church, if.
Speaker 12 (22:59):
You part of a civil rights organization, a community based organization.
Speaker 11 (23:04):
A divine nine organization like one of.
Speaker 12 (23:07):
Those attorneys, all of us must play a role. We
can do it on an individual basis. Right, we can
participate in some of the things that are taking place
right now. I sometimes feel people are look getting some
grand design.
Speaker 11 (23:24):
Right, let magic pull.
Speaker 12 (23:26):
It, warrant a supreme leader Moses to free us.
Speaker 11 (23:33):
That's a fantasy.
Speaker 12 (23:35):
This is a thousand points of action at the local level.
Get involved with the National Urban League. Come to our
conference on a cometim meetings. Get involved in the NAACP,
National Action Network, Black Women's Roundtable, National County Negro Women
if you name, Get involved in one of those organizations
(23:58):
and our membership organizations. Go to town hall meetings, hold your
electeds even though you.
Speaker 11 (24:04):
Voted for accounts. Remember that at the.
Speaker 12 (24:08):
End of the day, this activism is not separate from votings.
But voting alone is essential, but not enough. Activating alone
is essential, but not enough.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
So say to those people who just don't care to vote.
Speaker 11 (24:24):
Wake up? What do you say? Wake up? If you
say it ain't your fight, you're really living in the small,
in the fall and in the clowns.
Speaker 12 (24:38):
If you say it's not your fight, I don't want
to hear you complain about your.
Speaker 11 (24:43):
Condition, your objective condition. We have no time for destair
and defeat us.
Speaker 13 (24:55):
We have no time for spectators and observers. Everybody can
do something, even if you pick up your phone, then
go to your social media account.
Speaker 12 (25:08):
And post some messages that you can repost on these
issues while you're talking to your friends, while you're posting
pictures of your beautiful self, while you're doing all the
things people doing social media.
Speaker 11 (25:22):
You've got to use the tools right. There is no
brand design here.
Speaker 12 (25:30):
There's no one piece of legislation, no one march, rapid one,
no piece of litigation.
Speaker 11 (25:35):
No one election. NAGA is a movement, it's a force.
You gotta recognize it in.
Speaker 12 (25:47):
Irresistible force has to be met with an immovable object.
Speaker 10 (25:53):
When you're talking about it's so funny because you're mentioning
getting involved and the starting point where many people would be,
like you said, base base organizations, national urbanly joining organizations.
What do you say to organizations so that they can
(26:17):
get on the same page.
Speaker 11 (26:18):
You want to make sure, how do we.
Speaker 14 (26:19):
Know in the town hall meeting, old the rally. Educate
your members, that's number one. Educate your members. People need
before they can act, they need to understand or facts,
the circumstances. For example, the Congress is debating.
Speaker 12 (26:37):
A federal budget which would be devastating to America. Take
away healthcare from millions, take away support for care through
thro op education for tens of millions, eliminate investments in
housing for tens of millions of America. Basically, strip away
(27:02):
support and investments for those who are at the middle
and at the bottom of the American economy, and transfer
that money to the eight hundred.
Speaker 11 (27:16):
Billionaires in America.
Speaker 12 (27:19):
Now eight hundred billionaires in America have twice as much
wealth as the bottom fifty percent of America.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
In Trump had these people.
Speaker 11 (27:33):
Voting pass, well, let me tell you who don't.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
People are man to sit back and reflect it has
voted for the president and you have second thoughts.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
You should let people know. I mean, you have to
recognize it.
Speaker 12 (27:49):
There was all this tall about the working class in
the middle class, right, None of these policies are about
the working class in the middle class.
Speaker 11 (27:57):
They're really about not the rich, the very rich. Right
in America. I'llould guard be the billionaires.
Speaker 12 (28:07):
If you realize that less than a thousand billionaires, less
than one thousand billionaires in America, and they have twice
as much wealth as one hundred and seventy five million Americans,
twice as much wealth as those one hundred and seventy
(28:28):
five million Americans combined.
Speaker 11 (28:31):
It's an enormity of wealth.
Speaker 12 (28:32):
So what do I say we need to pay their
fee shared to If a nurse, or a teacher, or
a cafeteria worker or an aspiring.
Speaker 11 (28:42):
Journalist is paying ten to fifteen twenty five.
Speaker 12 (28:45):
Percent in taxes, why shouldn't the billionaire pay? It's gonna say,
why should the billionaire have a tax system that gives
them loopholes, exclusions, deductions, alley ways, hallways, tunnels to get
around their obligation that their political.
Speaker 11 (29:04):
Power gives them an opportunity right into the law.
Speaker 12 (29:07):
This is modern America, and this is why we have
so much stress.
Speaker 11 (29:14):
On people who work.
Speaker 12 (29:17):
Those people work black, few Latinos, white people. They are
from every community Asians who are feeling the stress. And
when you cut off diversity, equity and inclusion, you're cutting
off pathways, You're cutting off the stairway, You're cutting off
the elevator, You're cutting off the ramp that helps people
(29:41):
get to the next level in this country.
Speaker 11 (29:44):
So that cutoff, what do you.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
Feel what happens if we don't organize.
Speaker 10 (29:48):
If we don't organize, if we don't get on the
same page, or what do.
Speaker 11 (29:51):
You people are going to be hurt. Communities living to
be hurt, people living to be hurt.
Speaker 12 (29:57):
And it's hard to even describe the impact moment. In
the Reagan years, people gave Reagan credit for court bringing
the economy back.
Speaker 11 (30:08):
He brought the economy back to the summer.
Speaker 12 (30:11):
Reagan's huts created a homelessness problem. They closed all the
mental health clinics, and therefore we had people with mental
health problems who couldn't afford a psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental
health professional on the street on their own. A great nation,
a wealthy nation like the United States of America, should
(30:33):
have a safety Nay, a great wealthy nation like America
should have pathways that help people move.
Speaker 11 (30:45):
From being poor, from.
Speaker 12 (30:47):
Being disadvantaged, from being working.
Speaker 11 (30:50):
Pathways to the middle class and upward.
Speaker 12 (30:52):
Those pathways and education, those pathways of workforce, those pathways
help people build businesses, They help people buy homes, help
people get to the next level. That's a legitimate role
for the government in a modern society.
Speaker 11 (31:11):
I don't want to hold you.
Speaker 10 (31:12):
Too much longer, because I know you have a very
very busy day. Is there anything else that you want
to share that I didn't ask?
Speaker 11 (31:20):
Follow us at Mark Moreal and had matter.
Speaker 12 (31:25):
Be in the conversation, be in the game, begin the fight.
Wherever you are, wherever you sit, and whatever you made.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
Thanks Morgan and Mark Morial. Every year, hundreds of Black
moms died during pregnancy or after delivering their babies, while
mothers of other racists and ethnicities are also experiencing death.
Statistics show Black women are dying at three and a
half times the rate of other women. It's a situation
that medical professionals and maternal health advocacy has reached a crisis.
(32:00):
In this special report for the Black Information that Works
public awareness campaign Saving Black Moms a Maternal Health Crisis,
The Bion's Andrea Coleman explores the issue with a medical
professional who's working to address that.
Speaker 15 (32:13):
Doctor Taba Rebo is very familiar with the Black maternal
mortality and morbidity rates in the US.
Speaker 16 (32:19):
There is not a singular thing or a singular cause
that we can point to and see the reason is
this right? The reason is disparity, like deep rooted like
racial disparities against African Americans in general. The reason is
the social determinants of health, transportation, in security, food, insecurity, house,
(32:41):
and insecurity. It is the unconscious biases that providers bring
to the care of these women. It is access to care.
And so when you start to think about what is
the cause of this disparity that we're seeing in these numbers,
it is multi factorial.
Speaker 15 (33:00):
Who owns that? Where does responsibility lie for changing these
social determinants and helping that woman get into a state
of stability and health.
Speaker 16 (33:09):
I think it is all of us. I think the
policies right, like what is the legislature doing? Like what
kind of medical infrastructure do we have in the United States?
Does the account for those things? Right? So like policies
and then clinics as well, Right, clinics also have a
role to play in this, and that you can connect
(33:31):
and partner with organizations that have those resources, right, Like
make sure that you're not just an isolated clinic that
only focuses on just the clinical You have to partner
with organizations. So if you're in a space like I
am in a community health center where you understand that
(33:51):
you're funding is kind of limited and you know that
you can't address all these issues The best thing you
can do for your patients is partner. Find partners who
will help you address the other non clinical aspects that
contribute to the statistics that we're talking about.
Speaker 15 (34:08):
As an OBGYN who works for Healing Hands Ministries, a
community based health care facility in South Dallas, Texas, every day,
doctor Rebo sees the underlying issues influencing Black maternal health outcomes.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
She is aware that.
Speaker 15 (34:21):
Some of those outcomes include the death of a mother
who dies while in the hospital, still under the watch
of medical professionals, after delivering her baby.
Speaker 16 (34:31):
Often the time, like the scenario you just described is
not an isolated event, is not an isolated incident. This
is like a repetitis pattern that usually happens among the
African Americans. It's like when you have a complaints like, well,
maybe it's just gas, maybe it's just sleep deprivation, maybe
it's just this. Well, we need to start changing the
(34:52):
rhetoric here, We need to start changing our mindset and
our approach to care that common illnesses do not present
the same way across ethnic backgrounds. Right, and when we
go to medical school, the things we're taught is in
a context of not an African Americans in a context
of like a white person, and so when you then
(35:15):
start treating a black person, do you have the frame
of reference? Do you know how it presents in this population? Right, Like,
it's not uncommon for you to open a textbook and
you're showing your rash. Well, the rash is on a
white skin, but then when it's on my skin, what
does it look like?
Speaker 5 (35:35):
So when you.
Speaker 16 (35:36):
See the same rash on someone that looks like me,
can you identify it? Kind of like addressing those unconscious biases.
Speaker 17 (35:44):
That we don't even know we bring to the care
because I truly want to believe that a physician doesn't
spend over a decade of their life training to then intentionally.
Speaker 16 (35:57):
Be biased against one group.
Speaker 11 (35:59):
I would like to.
Speaker 16 (36:00):
Believe in humanity that like when we take the hypocritic, oh,
it means something that we're not intentionally doing this, but
the reality the statistics is we are, and so what
do we do about it?
Speaker 15 (36:15):
That's interesting because these depths to are cutting across socioeconomic lines, right,
So sometimes you want to say, well, is it a
matter of you know, just being limited by the amount
of tests that their insurance will allow and so forth.
But We're looking at women from across all socioeconomic levels
that are being subjected and actually dying. So how do
(36:36):
you get before these educators in these institutions to allow
and encourage change in the way that these exercises are
lessons are taught so that they can become more sensitive.
I mean, how do you sensitize a professional to these
issues that could save the lives of black moms.
Speaker 16 (36:57):
We have to address it before you become a physician.
We have to address it in the policies that we
make and how we do our medical education. We have
to address it in our const rooms well before you
are in the world practicing as an independent practitioner. And
so that is going to be again, it's going to
(37:17):
take all of us. It's going to take me, it's
going to take you. It's going to take policy. It's
going to take our current practitioners. It's going to take
our policy makers. It's going to take our school administrators.
It's going to take black moms and black people speaking
up and like hey, like where am I in your textbook?
Like where are where are we in? Like the education
(37:38):
that you're providing to your students, to your learners.
Speaker 15 (37:41):
Yeah, you know you say that, and I'm automatically reminded
of the era in which we are in socially, where
we are now seeing this pushback against any kind of
education that distinguishes any kind of racial difference and so forth.
How likely are these changes is then, considering this current
(38:01):
political and social climate, how likely are these changes to
take place?
Speaker 16 (38:06):
I want to be optimistic to say that the disparity
that we see in the African American or the Black
maternal mortality rate, it's not coincidence. It's not a reflection
of politics. This is real life. This are real people,
and we know the black mom is an anchor. She
(38:29):
is more than just a woman in her society. She
is the mama in chief of her community. And so
a decision to become pregnant should not be marred with
the possibility of mourning. This is real life. This is
real life. This is real life. And when a woman,
when a black woman is missing from her household, you
(38:52):
change the entire trajectory of her family or her community.
The fabric is not the same. And so when you
pull up the statistics and you know that the average
maternal mortality rate in America is eighteen per one hundred thousand,
but the black woman is fifty per one hundred thousand.
You can't argue with that. This is not talking about
(39:15):
diversity equate an inclusion. This is real life. This is
not trying to pick out race. This is real life.
And so I would hope that you know in our
current political climate that everyone is invested in reducing the
maternal mortality rate. And you cannot reduce the maternal mortality
without reducing the blank maternal mortality rate, because that is
(39:39):
the huge piece that is skewing it to be in
a high number. I mean, when you think about the
amount of money that we as a country spending healthcare,
and then you think about our outcomes, I mean, everyone
should be invested in that because the amount of money
doesn't equate the result we're getting. Among industrialized countries and
(40:04):
high income countries, the United States is at the bottom
and yet to spend the most. So if we're in
an error where we're talking about efficiency and reducing waste
and abuse and trying to be more efficient, what is
a more efficient way than targeting the high priority areas.
Speaker 15 (40:24):
What is the perfect team for a woman who is
pregnant looking to make it through her maternal journey. What
checklist can you provide for her to at least prepare
for best outcome.
Speaker 16 (40:39):
That's a topic that I talk about very very often
with my team, and again it is multidisciplinary. Right well,
before pregnancy, we need to make sure that all of
our medical comorbidities are sort of optimized. So your journey
to a healthy pregnancy and postpartu period starts with your community.
(41:03):
It starts at the community. It starts with the kind
of food you're eating, the quality of air that you're breathing, right,
like all these things that has nothing to do with
the pregnancy. That's why it starts. And then you need
access to care, your good primary care to make sure
that your hypertension and your diabetes is well controlled, well
(41:24):
before we even talk about pregnancy. And then we need
to make sure that if there's any other COMORBIDITYES that's
in the picture, is there any psychiatric component, like any
mental health. I'm making sure that your children have access
to care while you're coming to your visit. So all
of that starts before pregnancy, because not often do you
(41:46):
see women in pregnancy like I'm sorry, I know you're
saying that you recommend me going to the hospital, but
I have two other children and I don't have help,
and like when I come to my medical appointments, I
don't know where to keep the kids. And then we
also talk about clinic policies, like when I started, if
my clinic children weren't allowed, and I'm like, pregnancy is
(42:11):
a family affair, Like how can you expect her to
come to clinic appointments when we don't provide childcare? And
then we say children are not allowed. So what does
a team look like? The team looks like providing all
of those ausureties and securities for our to pregnancy. And
then when you call me to pregnancy, meeting them where
they are ensuring that at that first visit that you're
(42:32):
not just focused on the clinical but you're focused on
the woman as a whole. Make sure you're doing some
sort of social determinants of health assessment. And that's where
your community health workers, your clinic navigators coming to place.
Now the clinician is not even in the picture yet.
This is like another part of the team ensuring that
all of that's happening. And then when the clinician comes
(42:55):
into the room, making sure that you have like a
good clortified a provider that's qualified to take care of
that woman, whether that's a physician in OPJYN, whether that's
a midwife or another practitioner. And then as we go
into the hospital, then you have another set of providers
there that's taking care of you in the postpartum period.
(43:15):
You need to make sure that your mental health providers
are part of that. Whether a woman has overt depression
or not, the immediate postpartum period is a lot of
emotions and anxiety and so just making sure that you
have a team that checks it. If not for anything
to say, Mom, how are you doing mentally right? I'm
(43:35):
not saying that she needs to be hospitalized or needs
to be in medication, but it needs to be a
component of mental health in the postpartum care.
Speaker 15 (43:44):
What should an expecting mom or even a conceiving mom
look for in a healthcare provider?
Speaker 16 (43:50):
Oh, you need to look for a partner. You need
to have a partner that understands that your pregnancy journey
is ten months long, right, and like in that ten months,
we need to build in not relationship that you can
tell me things that you think has nothing to do
with this, because the moment I hear that, oh you're
walking to clinic, and it's just like, oh, like, what
(44:11):
was bothering me today was like when I try to
catch the boss, I missed the boss, and so I'm like,
I'm like, okay, right, you think we're just chatting, but
now the next thing we're going to talk about is
how we're going to make sure that that doesn't happen again.
And then when you have any questions, knowing that like,
there's no question too silly, no question too big that
(44:32):
we can't talk about.
Speaker 15 (44:34):
If you could talk to anyone in the whole circle
of people involved the network involved with maternal health, in
particular Black maternal health, who would you speak to most
and what message would you give to them?
Speaker 16 (44:50):
I would speak to the physicians more, the providers more,
because I think that often at times, and it's not
our fault. He's the way we're try In school. You're
trained to be so clinically based and clinically focused that
we don't spend enough time talking about the person that's
(45:10):
at home. It's like, Okay, you have hypertension, and this
is the medicine done right. There's no room for like
understanding the circumstance around that and often at times that's
whole pushing patients away, is that it come to you
and like sometimes you know every're looking at the patient.
You look at their vitals, like your blood pressure is
really high today, you need to go to the hospital.
(45:31):
This is the medicine and done. But you didn't stop
to think about that they have all the kids. You
didn't start to think about what's going to happen when
you're in the hospital for two days. And when the
woman says, I can't go to the hospital because of
my other kids. What are you documenting in your chart?
Are you putting the word non compliant? Take a moment
and let there be enough grace. Let there be aeno
(45:55):
grace to go around. I'm trying to see the patients
from from where there's and what they have to offer
apart from just the clinical So I would speak to
my counterparts more because I think that we oftentimes have
the power to change a narrative around patients. How you
document matters because the next doctor who reads that note
(46:17):
is going to then forge that opinion about that patient
before they ever meet them. And so when they call
me the room, they're like before the patient's like, oh,
I'm sorry. I kind of like, okay, no where sign
out against medical advice, right, and so then that just
gets perpetrated over and over and over again.
Speaker 15 (46:34):
It is a dangerous cycle that is costing lives and
wounding families. We'll share such a heartbreaking story and our
next report. I'm Andrea Coleman on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Thanks Andrea. We will have that report and many more
throughout the summer. Please visit binnews dot com to learn
more about the campaign. Also look for updates on our
social media platforms. And this week's The Color Between the
Lines here from a young author, Bellin Woodard, who is
on a mission to get others to be more inclusive
(47:06):
in the world of dance. The Black Information That Works
Esther Dillard has more.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
In this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
Speaker 18 (47:16):
We shouldn't just settle on something just because, and so
when that one studio told me Wallace tradition, we can't
change in the tradition, I was like, well, okay, then
I'm going to find a studio who recognizes that way
to grow.
Speaker 19 (47:29):
If I'm speaking with return author Bellin Woodard. The first
time I spoke with her, she was nine years old
and she had launched a book called More Than Peach.
It was about getting crayons that were more than peach
to represent different skin tones when you're trying to draw
on a piece of paper or color and a coloring book. Well,
that idea turned into a line of crayons and a
(47:53):
big business. Now she's eleven and she's put out a
new book called Balant Brown, and she's talking to me
about that. Let's listen in Well, your book Ballet Brown
is really based on.
Speaker 5 (48:05):
Your own experience as a young.
Speaker 19 (48:07):
Dancer searching for ballet and a costume for your ballet
based on your skin tone. Can you share with me
what was that moment like when you realized that you
couldn't find one and what inspired you?
Speaker 5 (48:23):
I guess to write about it in a story like this.
Speaker 18 (48:27):
So what inspired me to write Ballet Brown as a
story is that, Well, I started ballet when I was
two years old, and at first there weren't any dress code.
There wasn't a dress code really because we are so tiny.
But then eventually, as you get a little bit older,
eventually you have to be put into pink tights and
(48:48):
pink shoes and pink everything. And I kind of I
started thinking to myself, well, it doesn't look like my
legs belong to me, Like my legs are pink, but
the rest of the rest of me isn't pin and
this doesn't match. And so I was like, okay, So
first of all, why pink? Why do we wear pink?
And so I started researching why ballet pink? And that
(49:12):
is the term that's used with the pink tights, big shoes.
Speaker 20 (49:16):
The color is ballet pink.
Speaker 18 (49:17):
So I started researching why and I found out that
when ballet originated in Europe, the pink was used to
elongate the European dancers lines and make them look elegant
and beautiful on stage, and it did do exactly that.
But since then, since many beautiful colors have been added
into the world of ballet, the pink doesn't give the
(49:40):
same effect for every single skin tone like it does
for the light skin tones. And so I feel like
we need to evolve with with We're evolving, and so
the tradition, the traditions need to evolve with us.
Speaker 20 (49:54):
And so that's why I decided to.
Speaker 18 (49:56):
Not only name my new book Ballet Brown, but Ballet
Brown isn't just my book, but it's also a new
term that I have coined, and a new mindset that
I want to promote, saying that trying to normalize equivalent
options for everybody and so that our spaces can be
whole and somewhere where we can grow and thrive.
Speaker 19 (50:18):
I like your book because I get I got a
chance to read it all the way through, and I
saw that when you started to talk about this with
some of your instructors, some people were not as receptive.
Speaker 5 (50:30):
What was that like?
Speaker 20 (50:32):
So that's so it was a real experience. And as
I was saying, like, with.
Speaker 18 (50:37):
The traditions, a lot of the responses are always just
it was a tradition. But we've grown so much since then,
and traditions shouldn't traditions are There's always room to grow
in traditions, and so we shouldn't just settle on something
just because. And so when that one studio told me, well,
it was a tradition, we can't change up the tradition,
(50:59):
I was like, well, okay, then I'm going to find
a studio who recognizes that we need to grow and so,
and that's exactly what I did. I walked away and
I found a studio that appreciated that was willing to
grow and appreciate it, and it was already growing, and
that was willing to be able to incorporate the brown
and the other colors, I mean not even just brown,
(51:20):
just other colors into this world of dance in.
Speaker 19 (51:24):
Ballet I know that more than Peach. That was your
first book and project, and it's changed a lot of
kids' minds and adults' minds on how to look at
just colors and skin tones. And how has Ballet Brown,
I guess, continued that mission of this, this.
Speaker 5 (51:45):
Whole more than Peach project.
Speaker 18 (51:48):
So when I first started, after I wrote the book
more than Peach, after I wrote the book more than Peach,
after I started my business, and after I made the crayons,
because the crowns came first, But after I saw a
big of an impact more than Peach made, and how
many people actually listened, I was like, well, since I
have this voice and people are and people are listening
(52:10):
and want to listen, then I want to do the
same with Ballet Brown, because I feel like this is
also needed and it's not even all just about brown
shoes and brown ties. This is just about creating equivalent
options for everything and for everyone, and not even just
in ballet or dance, just for things across the board
and so so yeah, creating Ballet Brown was just I
(52:35):
knew that I wanted to make this change again, and
since I had already made this change once, I wanted
to make a new change.
Speaker 19 (52:45):
What kind of responses have you gotten from other kids
and other parents who have picked up this book and
know about your mission, especially with Ballet Brown.
Speaker 18 (52:54):
I've been promoting the idea though for months and all
of that, but I've gotten in resk is saying like,
when I first started my child out in ballet, I
didn't know the pink actually had a history. I thought,
and that's that's common, missus misconception that the pink is
just a cute little color for the kids to wear.
(53:14):
But it it's really interesting to see how to see
the responses saying, oh, well, I actually learned something new,
and I'm so excited to start my little girl out
in the in the brown or skin color tights because
now I do know the history. And that's that's definitely
that was my That's definitely something that's this that shows
(53:37):
what changes is already making without the book even being out.
Because when I started, like people my age when they start,
they didn't know about it and they didn't know about
this history. And so now going into the new generations
and hopefully they start out with this knowledge.
Speaker 5 (53:54):
I'm wondering when you went back. I'm just going back
in this.
Speaker 19 (54:00):
Story and how when you were given the option by
someone you picked up the tights that were different color
and you had to change them, you had to actually
color them. How did that all go come about? How
did what did you learn about that process? And was
that difficult? And just kind of bring me through that
(54:22):
whole process of doing that. So that process is called pancaking.
Speaker 18 (54:27):
You actually do it to your shoes because the brown ties,
I mean a lot of they're available for other dance
styles too as well, but the ballet shoes are specific
for ballet. So a lot of the time. Professional ballerinas
do this a lot. But they do something called pancaking,
which is where you take a makeup or make a sponge,
whatever you need, and you put foundation on it, your
(54:48):
foundation color, and you dab it on the shoes.
Speaker 20 (54:50):
You basically paint the shoes and yourself.
Speaker 18 (54:53):
And when I first did that, I did that to
my first pair of point shoes because they didn't have
the brown a bail, so I had to kind of
make my own point shoes.
Speaker 20 (55:02):
I just got a pink pear and painted over it.
Speaker 18 (55:04):
But I ended up actually ruining my shoes because I
didn't know how to do it, and point shoes are
not something you play about. And by the time I
ordered a new pair, they were too small because it
came so late.
Speaker 20 (55:16):
And it's just so it's it's.
Speaker 18 (55:20):
Still kind of amazing to see how it's still not
that accessible even as we've grown so much, and like
you can walk in easily and buy a pair of
pink shoes, but the brown shoes are kind of like
a needle and haystacks sometimes and kind of like a
hit or miss. You never know if when you go
into get fitting if you're actually gonna find your pair
(55:40):
or actually going to leave with the pair.
Speaker 19 (55:42):
So do you think that manufacturer should go in on
doing a deal with Bellin and do a ballet brownin?
Speaker 20 (55:54):
I think I think that's perfect.
Speaker 18 (55:55):
I mean, I've seen there's there are like brands that
do have like separate lines of the ballet shoes, but
I feel but not every brand has has the color
the different colored ballet shoes and that's something we need.
Speaker 5 (56:12):
You know, I'm thinking about it.
Speaker 19 (56:14):
You know, I'm kind of like always try to think
outside the box.
Speaker 5 (56:17):
And you know, like you know how some people pick the.
Speaker 19 (56:19):
The the the color and they pick a chick lit
of the color on online and you can pick exactly
what you want. That was an availability for someone. Then
they could pick the exact top and then order it
and then get whatever tone that they want, and it
like make up, you know, you could pick up your
own your tights.
Speaker 18 (56:39):
And it's so hard because like there's some there's so
many different foots, like you get when you can get
point shoes, you get fitted, and my feet are very weird,
and so it's so hard to get my perfect fit.
But only but different brands have different types of shoes,
if that makes sense. So not every brand will fit
your foot, and so it can be difficult when even
(57:01):
the brand that does fit your foot doesn't even to
carry skin color different skin tones.
Speaker 20 (57:06):
So yeah, it's difficult.
Speaker 19 (57:09):
What's your overall message for this book to other readers
and what do you want them to come away with?
Speaker 18 (57:15):
So I think it's really important that the parents dores
are kid out in ballet on the right foot because
it just creates no there's no disconnet from the very beginning,
and when they go to their first little ballet recital,
then they can already feel have the same effect the
elegated or elegant elongated lines and never have to even question,
(57:40):
why do my legs not look like they.
Speaker 20 (57:42):
Belong with me?
Speaker 18 (57:43):
So yeah, I think it's very important to just make
sure they start out feeling.
Speaker 20 (57:51):
Feeling like included.
Speaker 18 (57:54):
Yeah, feeling included and feeling like they look good on stage.
You don't have to stay. Like, the most powerful thing
you can do is walk away, and that's exactly what
I did, because there is somewhere waiting for you that
will welcome you with open arms, and somewhere that is
willing to grow.
Speaker 20 (58:08):
And that's exactly what I got when I walked away.
Speaker 18 (58:11):
Now I'm at a studio and I love my studio
and it's continuing to grow. And yeah, and I of
course know nowhere is perfect, but you know there they
realize that and they're ready to They're ready.
Speaker 20 (58:25):
So yeah, so you don't.
Speaker 18 (58:28):
Have to stay, don't have to accept it just because
and really challenge your curiosity, because if I hadn't started
researching why we wore the pink tights. Maybe I was
hoping pink tites to this day, and so yeah, challenge
your curiosity and really challenge that pushing that status quo.
Speaker 19 (58:47):
I want to say congratulations on your new book. Thanks
so much for joining us on the BI N.
Speaker 18 (58:52):
Thank you so much. I was so this is such
an amazing experience.
Speaker 19 (58:56):
If this conversation moved you, I invite you to subscribe
to the Color Between the Lines podcast on YouTube, iHeartRadio,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (59:05):
Thanks Esther and Bellan, and that's our show for this week.
For more on these stories, listen to the Black Information
Network on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto binnews
dot com for all of the latest news impacting the
black community. Also, be sure to follow us on social
media at Black Information Network and on X and Blue
(59:26):
Sky at black Info Net and make bi in first
on your car radio and iHeartRadio app presets. I'm Mike Island,
wishing everyone a great Sunday, and be sure to tune
in next week at this time for another edition of
the Black Perspective right here on the Black Information Network
The opinion's beliefs and viewpoints expressed in this commentary are
those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of BN and its founding partners and employees.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I'm mo Kelly on the bin with your two minute warning.
Actor leon Isaac Kennedy has come out in support of
his friend of sixty years, Smokey Robinson, calling the allegations
against him preposterous. In his forty three minute posted video commentary,
he spoke to the attorneys on both sides of the
issue and detailed his long and close history with Robinson.
(00:32):
His friendship is admirable and his desire to serve as
a character witness understandable. But until and unless Kennedy can
offer direct testimony to contradict the allegations against Robinson, Kennedy
is respectfully irrelevant. Unless Kennedy can attest that he was
a witness to one, sum or any of the alleged
sexual assaults, he can't speak on anything other than he
(00:54):
and Smokey Robinson are close and nothing else. But Kennedy
used his forty three minutes to you also try to
deconstruct and delegitimize the accusations against Robinson, while also sharing
Robinson's supposed thoughts of the allegations.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
But I think it's important to share this one statement
that Smokey made as we were sitting watching the attorney's
press conference when it was over, Smokey said, rape, that's
such a violent, angry act. I've always believed that sex
should be mutually consensual and mutually enjoyed. Why would I
want that kind of energy?
Speaker 2 (01:30):
The question is not why would Robinson want that energy,
but more simply, did he do it? Why pose another
question instead of giving us the more meaningful answer, since
we're just asking questions about what would make more sense. Yes,
what has been alleged goes against what Kennedy believes he
knows about Robinson, but the allegations are not subject to
(01:51):
opinions of the unrelated or popularity of the accused. Smokey
Robinson is going to have to ride this out all
by himself. I'm O'Kelly at mister mo' kelly on social
media and at your two minute warning on the Black
Information Network.
Speaker 4 (02:07):
It's Sunday, June eighth, and on today's show, I get
to start it off with a conversation with the Ohio
Housing Finance Agency and what new home buying opportunities they
have for Ohio residents. Morgan Wood talks to National Urban
League CEO Mark Marial at the House of Prayer in Washington,
d C. Andrea Coleman starts the Black Information that Works
(02:27):
public awareness campaign saving Black Moms a maternal health crisis
as she explores the issue with a medical professional and
who's working to address it. Gracie Award winner Esther Dillard
is back with her segment, The Color Between the Lines,
as she talks to Arthur Bellen Woodard and an inclusive
look into the world of dance. These stories and more
(02:50):
are coming your way on today's program. Welcome to the
Black Perspective. I'm your host, Mike Island.
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Welcome to the Black Perspective, a weekly com unity affairs
program on the Black Information Network featuring interviews and discussions
on issues important to the Black community.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Good Sunday, everyone, and welcome to the Black Perspective. The
Ohio Housing Finance Agency partners locally with the Black Information
That Work in the state of Ohio to help the
dream of home ownership become a reality.
Speaker 5 (03:19):
And we are with John.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Dewey, single Family Relations program manager for the Ohio Housing
Finance agency.
Speaker 6 (03:26):
How are you doing doing great? Thanks for having me today.
Speaker 4 (03:29):
Well, thanks for taking time to be with us. What
does the Ohio Housing Finance Agency do so?
Speaker 7 (03:35):
Our agency offers financial assistance programs to help home buyers
get into a home, and we offer a variety of
different programs like down payment assistance and lower interest rates
for those in public service careers.
Speaker 4 (03:49):
There's a lot of people they want to be homeowners,
but they don't have this type of information that you provide.
You have a lot of programs in there, and which
one is the most popular?
Speaker 7 (03:59):
Our most popular program is definitely the five percent your
choice down payment assistance, and that is five percent of
the purchase price towards down payment and closing costs. And
to giving an example, if somebody was purchasing a two
hundred thousand dollars house and they were getting our five
percent down payment assistance, that would be ten thousand dollars
(04:20):
towards their down payment and closing costs.
Speaker 4 (04:23):
That's a pretty generous amount that helped a lot of
people get started.
Speaker 6 (04:26):
Absolutely yes.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
Can you tell us about the Ohio Heroes program for
people in public service careers? We don't hear much about that.
Speaker 7 (04:34):
The Ohio Heroes program offers a slightly lower interest rate
than our standard mortgage interest rates, and it's for those
that work full time in a bunch of different occupations,
including veterans, active duty military, members of the reserve components.
Speaker 6 (04:51):
And this also includes.
Speaker 7 (04:53):
Police officers, firefighters, volunteer firefighters, EMTs, and paramedics, and then
physician nurse practitioners, nurses and then pre k through twelve teachers, administrators,
and counselors.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
Our Heroes, our first responders are included in here and teachers.
Two of my favorite people we're talking with John Dewey.
He's the single family Relations program manager for the Ohio
Housing Finance Agency. They're working hard to give people into
a home, potential home buyers, and we're glad to have
them with us today. Now, those using the Ohio Heroes Program,
(05:30):
may they also be eligible for down payment assistance?
Speaker 7 (05:34):
Yes, they can combine the Hero's program with our down
payment assistance program.
Speaker 4 (05:37):
What is the potential home buyer's first step to see
if they qualify, because this is where the hardest part
is just getting started. Where do they start?
Speaker 7 (05:46):
Their first step is to go to our website, my
Ohio home dot org. Again, that's my Ohio home dot
org and they're going to contact one of our OPA
approved mortgage lenders and we have lenders that work all
throughout the state of Ohio. With one of those lenders
and they can prequalify you and let you know if
you qualify for our home buyer programs in downpayment assistance.
Speaker 4 (06:08):
Now this is all through Ohio right correct.
Speaker 6 (06:10):
Anywhere in the state of Ohio they can use their
programs the.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Ohio Housing Finance Agency getting home buyers into a home,
the many different programs. You can go to my Ohio
home dot org and get more information anything else you
want to add, mister doing.
Speaker 6 (06:26):
On our website, my Ohio home dot org.
Speaker 7 (06:28):
We have a bunch of really helpful information on the
basic steps of starting the home buying process. Are mortgage
lenders that are listed down there, and then all the
information on our home buyer programs.
Speaker 4 (06:40):
Well, thank you for your time, and this is a
very valuable program Ohio Housing Finance Agency does and all
that can be done at my Ohio home dot org.
Thank you for your time today.
Speaker 6 (06:51):
Absolutely thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed in this commentary are
those of the author and do not necessarily present those
of BN and its founding partners and employees.
Speaker 8 (07:04):
I'm James Harris, and I have something to say. Once again,
a young black life is lost, and once again the
media yawns. Eighteen year old Eva Moore was a standout,
a recent graduate of the US Air Force Academy prep school,
a young black woman who wasn't a TikTok star, wasn't
a rapper, and wasn't a justice involved youth. She was
(07:24):
a future leader, ready to serve this nation. She went
home to Texas for Memorial Day weekend. She went kayaking
and she was killed, slammed from behind by a jet
ski driven by a twenty two year old illegal alien
from Venezuela. That man didn't just kill Ava, he fled
the scene, ran like a coward, hitting two more vehicles
(07:46):
on his way out. He's now charged with manslaughter. But
here's what you won't hear in most media reports. Ava
was an American of African descent, she was military, and
she was killed by an illegal immigrant. You see, this
story breaks the narrative. The media loves to center black voices,
unless that voice would expose the disaster of our southern border.
(08:08):
Unless that voice undermines the every illegal is just here
for a better life fairy tale, unless that voice makes
the Biden administration look like the chaos agents they were.
This tragedy is a direct result of Joe Biden and
the Democrat's open borders. It didn't have to happen, But
when you prioritize political points over public safety, when you
(08:31):
trade sovereignty for sanctuary cities, this is the price, and
the silence from the left is deafening. No outrage, no
national mourning, no marches, no Al Sharpton, just another inconvenient
victim who doesn't help the narrative evermore. Was American. She
was erased by someone who never should have been here,
(08:53):
and by a political class that never learns. I'm James T.
Harris for the Black Information Network.
Speaker 9 (09:00):
Informed, empowered, and ahead of the curve with a BI
News This Hour podcast, updated hourly to bring you the
latest stories shaping the Black community, from breaking headlines to
cultural milestones. The Black Information Network delivers the facts, the voices,
and the perspectives that matter.
Speaker 5 (09:17):
Twenty four to seven.
Speaker 9 (09:19):
Listen to the BI News This Hour podcast on America's
number one podcast network. iHeart follow the BI News This
hour podcast and start listening on the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 4 (09:30):
Today the Black Information Networks. Morgan would recently sat down
with National Urban League CEO Mark Marial at the House
of Prayer in Washington, d C. He was in town
for the National Urban League's Empowerment Summit and Legislative Conference.
Morial spoke about the current political climate, and he pushed
the Main Street Tax Initiative, a bold plan with a
(09:53):
mission to lift communities out of poverty and stimulate economic growth.
Moriol also marked the anniversary of George Floyd's death with
the report titled George Floyd five years Later? Was it
a moment or a movement? Let's hear more from that conversation.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
Talk to me.
Speaker 10 (10:09):
About this press run that you're on. You know, what
you hope to accomplish the event that you are doing
right now in Washington, DC, or the National Urban League
Power Summit or Empowerment Summit excuse me here, and what
that means to the National Urban League and what you
guys hope to take away from it and accomplish from that.
Speaker 11 (10:31):
Well, thanks for having me. This is a twenty second
year that we've.
Speaker 12 (10:35):
Brought urbanly local leaders, activists and young professionals to Capitol
Hill to engage with policy makers. So the Empowerment Summit
includes our Legislative Policy Conference, right, so we've kind of about.
Speaker 11 (10:50):
Forty five hundred people here.
Speaker 12 (10:53):
They'll be visiting Capitol Hill, they'll be engaging in discussions
around very.
Speaker 11 (10:57):
Important issues from policy.
Speaker 13 (11:00):
But an added feature this year is the release of
a new report.
Speaker 11 (11:05):
And we thought we had to meet the fifth year
since the murder of George Floyd with.
Speaker 12 (11:14):
An interpretation, with a report with what does this moment
mean beyond just rhetoric and conversation.
Speaker 11 (11:23):
So we in this report.
Speaker 12 (11:25):
Looked at two things which really defined that moment. It
was a moment where the nation in the world saw
Officer show Van squeeze the life out of an innocent
man with his knee. It was captured on video because
of the courage of Darnella Spencer, a young Darnella Fraser, sorry,
(11:48):
a courageous young black woman who used a twenty first
century device Conan and I for when he captured the
entire thing. So as they say, your eye didn't lie
to you, we all saw, and the world saw, and
the world reacted, and the response was commitments and an
(12:10):
awakening of justice. And racial reconciliation. So corporations made commitments.
Police reform took off with great energy and passion. So
we decided to look at those two things. Let's look
at the police reform movement from twenty twenty to the president.
(12:34):
Let's look at corporate commitments from twenty twenty to the presidente.
And here's what I said in twenty twenty, is this
a moment for our movie. Clearly for some they wanted
to be a moment. For some of us, it has
been a movement. And where we are today is all
(12:57):
of the commitments that we're made and now facing vigorous
and sometimes hateful back lags that are really really disappointing
and angering to a great extent.
Speaker 11 (13:12):
Because many thought that this was that moment when America
could turn the page on a permanent basis.
Speaker 12 (13:19):
What we're seeing now is that the backlash of he
trump Ism, the backlash of magaism, and the backlash of
racial anxiety and fear has now consumed and in some
cases it's caused companies to retreat.
Speaker 11 (13:39):
In other cases, you've got a new Justice.
Speaker 12 (13:42):
Department which has stood up and frozen all civil rights investigations.
Now comparing contrast that under President Biden, with Christian Clark
at the helm of the Civil Rights Division, one hundred
and eighty officers were convicted of police misconduct, twelve departments
(14:04):
were investigated, and systemic civil rights and constitutional violations. States
like Maryland, cities across the nation took the initiative to
begin to reform policing, banning choke holds, limiting no knock quarrants,
training and holding the office accomomy. So we had a
(14:27):
moment that we had a movement towards policial form. That
movement now is being met with the.
Speaker 11 (14:37):
Force of the new Justice Department, which is.
Speaker 12 (14:41):
Saying, no, we are not going to prosecute, we are
not going to enforce civil rights.
Speaker 11 (14:46):
So we think it's important on.
Speaker 12 (14:49):
That issue to say number one, the retreat is.
Speaker 11 (14:54):
Wrong, it's inconsistent with what's best for this nation.
Speaker 12 (15:00):
With two that on the corporate side, we have to
lift up some of those corporate leaders that have spoken
up in favor of diversity, equity and inclusion, in favor
of their commitment to black and their health.
Speaker 11 (15:13):
Jamie Diamond is one, Roger Jail is another. Now have
they been perfect?
Speaker 12 (15:20):
That's to say that this is not to say they'll
be perfect. It's to say they were. They've raised their
voice and said diversity, equal opportunity, equity. Reaching out to
the black community and other lockdown communities was important for
American business. Others cut and run were treated and went
(15:47):
in the other direction. So we've got to make sure
that people understand that.
Speaker 11 (15:53):
We've got to hold all.
Speaker 12 (15:55):
These institutions economy for the commitments that they made.
Speaker 10 (16:00):
Can you suggest the American people elected officials go about
doing that right now we're dealing with the president who
doesn't seem to.
Speaker 5 (16:10):
Abide by the constitution.
Speaker 12 (16:13):
Number One, courage requires I teach.
Speaker 11 (16:19):
You my eyes and speak to say that one again.
Speaker 12 (16:21):
And I said, maybe they need to go see the
Wizard of Violence, like.
Speaker 11 (16:26):
The line deal and get that a little what courage
metal that the Wizard gave.
Speaker 12 (16:33):
Look, it's important this moment that leaders speak strongly and
forcefully about the values that they believe.
Speaker 11 (16:42):
That is what I'm going to do. That is what the.
Speaker 12 (16:44):
National reason continue to do, and to do it in
a forthright, unapologetic way to stand up. But also what
I want to emphasize is said when it comes to diversity.
Speaker 11 (16:58):
Equity and inclusion.
Speaker 12 (17:00):
Every poll of the American People shows that sixty seventy
in some cases eighty percent support the idea that American
business should look like America.
Speaker 11 (17:14):
The leadership of.
Speaker 12 (17:14):
American business should look like America, and an American business
should an American report should do more.
Speaker 11 (17:21):
That's consistent. The loudest voices in the room are not
their job. The loudest voices in the room may have power,
but just.
Speaker 12 (17:33):
Like David Faut Goliath, this is a moment for a
coalition of babies. This is a moment where we have
to speak up, we have to speak out, we have
to use whatever power we have. Activity National Early is
absolutely committed to this.
Speaker 11 (17:51):
We have no intention of yielding.
Speaker 12 (17:53):
We do have every intention of reaching out every segment
of the American people to advance the idea.
Speaker 11 (18:01):
That it is a fundamental American value.
Speaker 12 (18:04):
Everyone be included in the prosperity in this country, have
accessed the good jobs and pay good way to access
to housing, have access.
Speaker 11 (18:14):
Them to the corporate leadership, position.
Speaker 12 (18:15):
To have access them to boardrooms, have access to serve
in public office. So we've got to emphasize and in
this moment it is so simple to have courage.
Speaker 11 (18:29):
Our movement for transformation in this country from.
Speaker 12 (18:33):
A civil rights perspective, required the courage of Rosa Poms,
the courage of Further Marshall, the courage of John Lewis,
doctor King, Whitney, Youngs, Benny Neuhamer.
Speaker 11 (18:44):
I can name so many.
Speaker 12 (18:47):
People who are the public faces of the civil rights movement,
but that movement also had other faces.
Speaker 11 (18:57):
They were black, that were white, that were men, they
were women, they were many young people, older people.
Speaker 12 (19:02):
Faith leaders from a variety of faiths who stood up
because they believed that civil rights and equal opportunity were
an American value. I'm saying a black value, or a
white value.
Speaker 11 (19:17):
Or Hispanic or male or Republican or Democratic value, but
an American value.
Speaker 12 (19:21):
And that's what I'm encouraging people to stand up for
American values.
Speaker 11 (19:26):
The commitments made after George Floyd were really about moving
this country in a positive way past some of.
Speaker 12 (19:38):
The difficulty, the ugliness, discrimination, and the exclusion of the
passing into a much brighter day.
Speaker 11 (19:47):
We've got to continue to fight.
Speaker 12 (19:51):
Against these forces which want to turn the Clockmacks.
Speaker 10 (19:58):
Talk to me about of the necessary trouble. It seems like,
you know, you mentioned John Lewis, and you're talking about
having courage, how far should that courage go?
Speaker 11 (20:09):
So let's take a step back. You look at what
the last one hundred plus days that have brought.
Speaker 12 (20:15):
They've brought over two hundred lawsuits against various Trump era
executive orders.
Speaker 11 (20:21):
They've brought a wide range of.
Speaker 12 (20:25):
Public protests, peaceful assembly, and doctor William Barber is activating
on the federal budget with moral Mondays taking place once
a month here in the capital.
Speaker 11 (20:37):
Federally employees have been laid off, they have have rallied
and mobilized all across America's right. We mobilized.
Speaker 12 (20:49):
Most recently, we mobilized at the Smithsonian Museum with the
Freedom to Learn call to action, the Saint hands off
the Smithsonian, hands off our history. The State of the
People tour has been to Atlanta and New Orleans, and
I think this week in.
Speaker 11 (21:06):
North Carolina there are many many things happening at the
GRANTU yourself.
Speaker 12 (21:12):
This activation, this action has to include every organization, It
has to include every individual.
Speaker 11 (21:20):
We must understand this is bigger than the politics of
the commons.
Speaker 12 (21:25):
This is bigger than who will win the next election.
Although elections are crucial, elections are essential, elections are about power.
Speaker 11 (21:35):
Elections are about our voices being heard.
Speaker 12 (21:37):
This has got to go past the politics and elections.
I say the politics im mobilizing and shaping and activating
from opinion. That again's really an attack on the rule
of law, and really it's almost an effort to look
through one's rare view mirror and believe that the future.
Speaker 11 (21:59):
Is well.
Speaker 10 (22:01):
How do you suggest people go about rally You're saying,
we got to get all these organizations together and need
to be on one page. Right now, DEMS are dealing with.
Speaker 5 (22:14):
Some challenges and leadership.
Speaker 10 (22:16):
There seems to be some split in the Democratic Party
in regards to how leadership should go about.
Speaker 11 (22:25):
How do you ride on?
Speaker 5 (22:28):
Organizations shouldn't be distracted.
Speaker 12 (22:31):
By the democratic leadership friction.
Speaker 11 (22:36):
There's this outside.
Speaker 12 (22:40):
Community right who may be voters, who may be participants,
who may vote for THEMS.
Speaker 11 (22:47):
We cannot wait for that leadership. Can't wait for it.
I can't wait for that leadership. We've got to bring
the leadership to the community. So through your bank based
organization or your church, if.
Speaker 12 (22:59):
You part of a civil rights organization, a community based organization.
Speaker 11 (23:04):
A divine nine organization like one of.
Speaker 12 (23:07):
Those attorneys, all of us must play a role. We
can do it on an individual basis. Right, we can
participate in some of the things that are taking place
right now. I sometimes feel people are look getting some
grand design.
Speaker 11 (23:24):
Right, let magic pull.
Speaker 12 (23:26):
It, warrant a supreme leader Moses to free us.
Speaker 11 (23:33):
That's a fantasy.
Speaker 12 (23:35):
This is a thousand points of action at the local level.
Get involved with the National Urban League. Come to our
conference on a cometim meetings. Get involved in the NAACP,
National Action Network, Black Women's Roundtable, National County Negro Women
if you name, Get involved in one of those organizations
(23:58):
and our membership organizations. Go to town hall meetings, hold your
electeds even though you.
Speaker 11 (24:04):
Voted for accounts. Remember that at the.
Speaker 12 (24:08):
End of the day, this activism is not separate from votings.
But voting alone is essential, but not enough. Activating alone
is essential, but not enough.
Speaker 5 (24:22):
So say to those people who just don't care to vote.
Speaker 11 (24:24):
Wake up? What do you say? Wake up? If you
say it ain't your fight, you're really living in the small,
in the fall and in the clowns.
Speaker 12 (24:38):
If you say it's not your fight, I don't want
to hear you complain about your.
Speaker 11 (24:43):
Condition, your objective condition. We have no time for destair
and defeat us.
Speaker 13 (24:55):
We have no time for spectators and observers. Everybody can
do something, even if you pick up your phone, then
go to your social media account.
Speaker 12 (25:08):
And post some messages that you can repost on these
issues while you're talking to your friends, while you're posting
pictures of your beautiful self, while you're doing all the
things people doing social media.
Speaker 11 (25:22):
You've got to use the tools right. There is no
brand design here.
Speaker 12 (25:30):
There's no one piece of legislation, no one march, rapid one,
no piece of litigation.
Speaker 11 (25:35):
No one election. NAGA is a movement, it's a force.
You gotta recognize it in.
Speaker 12 (25:47):
Irresistible force has to be met with an immovable object.
Speaker 10 (25:53):
When you're talking about it's so funny because you're mentioning
getting involved and the starting point where many people would be,
like you said, base base organizations, national urbanly joining organizations.
What do you say to organizations so that they can
(26:17):
get on the same page.
Speaker 11 (26:18):
You want to make sure, how do we.
Speaker 14 (26:19):
Know in the town hall meeting, old the rally. Educate
your members, that's number one. Educate your members. People need
before they can act, they need to understand or facts,
the circumstances. For example, the Congress is debating.
Speaker 12 (26:37):
A federal budget which would be devastating to America. Take
away healthcare from millions, take away support for care through
thro op education for tens of millions, eliminate investments in
housing for tens of millions of America. Basically, strip away
(27:02):
support and investments for those who are at the middle
and at the bottom of the American economy, and transfer
that money to the eight hundred.
Speaker 11 (27:16):
Billionaires in America.
Speaker 12 (27:19):
Now eight hundred billionaires in America have twice as much
wealth as the bottom fifty percent of America.
Speaker 5 (27:30):
In Trump had these people.
Speaker 11 (27:33):
Voting pass, well, let me tell you who don't.
Speaker 12 (27:37):
People are man to sit back and reflect it has
voted for the president and you have second thoughts.
Speaker 11 (27:44):
You should let people know. I mean, you have to
recognize it.
Speaker 12 (27:49):
There was all this tall about the working class in
the middle class, right, None of these policies are about
the working class in the middle class.
Speaker 11 (27:57):
They're really about not the rich, the very rich. Right
in America. I'llould guard be the billionaires.
Speaker 12 (28:07):
If you realize that less than a thousand billionaires, less
than one thousand billionaires in America, and they have twice
as much wealth as one hundred and seventy five million Americans,
twice as much wealth as those one hundred and seventy
(28:28):
five million Americans combined.
Speaker 11 (28:31):
It's an enormity of wealth.
Speaker 12 (28:32):
So what do I say we need to pay their
fee shared to If a nurse, or a teacher, or
a cafeteria worker or an aspiring.
Speaker 11 (28:42):
Journalist is paying ten to fifteen twenty five.
Speaker 12 (28:45):
Percent in taxes, why shouldn't the billionaire pay? It's gonna say,
why should the billionaire have a tax system that gives
them loopholes, exclusions, deductions, alley ways, hallways, tunnels to get
around their obligation that their political.
Speaker 11 (29:04):
Power gives them an opportunity right into the law.
Speaker 12 (29:07):
This is modern America, and this is why we have
so much stress.
Speaker 11 (29:14):
On people who work.
Speaker 12 (29:17):
Those people work black, few Latinos, white people. They are
from every community Asians who are feeling the stress. And
when you cut off diversity, equity and inclusion, you're cutting
off pathways, You're cutting off the stairway, You're cutting off
the elevator, You're cutting off the ramp that helps people
(29:41):
get to the next level in this country.
Speaker 11 (29:44):
So that cutoff, what do you.
Speaker 5 (29:46):
Feel what happens if we don't organize.
Speaker 10 (29:48):
If we don't organize, if we don't get on the
same page, or what do.
Speaker 11 (29:51):
You people are going to be hurt. Communities living to
be hurt, people living to be hurt.
Speaker 12 (29:57):
And it's hard to even describe the impact moment. In
the Reagan years, people gave Reagan credit for court bringing
the economy back.
Speaker 11 (30:08):
He brought the economy back to the summer.
Speaker 12 (30:11):
Reagan's huts created a homelessness problem. They closed all the
mental health clinics, and therefore we had people with mental
health problems who couldn't afford a psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental
health professional on the street on their own. A great nation,
a wealthy nation like the United States of America, should
(30:33):
have a safety Nay, a great wealthy nation like America
should have pathways that help people move.
Speaker 11 (30:45):
From being poor, from.
Speaker 12 (30:47):
Being disadvantaged, from being working.
Speaker 11 (30:50):
Pathways to the middle class and upward.
Speaker 12 (30:52):
Those pathways and education, those pathways of workforce, those pathways
help people build businesses, They help people buy homes, help
people get to the next level. That's a legitimate role
for the government in a modern society.
Speaker 11 (31:11):
I don't want to hold you.
Speaker 10 (31:12):
Too much longer, because I know you have a very
very busy day. Is there anything else that you want
to share that I didn't ask?
Speaker 11 (31:20):
Follow us at Mark Moreal and had matter.
Speaker 12 (31:25):
Be in the conversation, be in the game, begin the fight.
Wherever you are, wherever you sit, and whatever you made.
Speaker 4 (31:36):
Thanks Morgan and Mark Morial. Every year, hundreds of Black
moms died during pregnancy or after delivering their babies, while
mothers of other racists and ethnicities are also experiencing death.
Statistics show Black women are dying at three and a
half times the rate of other women. It's a situation
that medical professionals and maternal health advocacy has reached a crisis.
(32:00):
In this special report for the Black Information that Works
public awareness campaign Saving Black Moms a Maternal Health Crisis,
The Bion's Andrea Coleman explores the issue with a medical
professional who's working to address that.
Speaker 15 (32:13):
Doctor Taba Rebo is very familiar with the Black maternal
mortality and morbidity rates in the US.
Speaker 16 (32:19):
There is not a singular thing or a singular cause
that we can point to and see the reason is
this right? The reason is disparity, like deep rooted like
racial disparities against African Americans in general. The reason is
the social determinants of health, transportation, in security, food, insecurity, house,
(32:41):
and insecurity. It is the unconscious biases that providers bring
to the care of these women. It is access to care.
And so when you start to think about what is
the cause of this disparity that we're seeing in these numbers,
it is multi factorial.
Speaker 15 (33:00):
Who owns that? Where does responsibility lie for changing these
social determinants and helping that woman get into a state
of stability and health.
Speaker 16 (33:09):
I think it is all of us. I think the
policies right, like what is the legislature doing? Like what
kind of medical infrastructure do we have in the United States?
Does the account for those things? Right? So like policies
and then clinics as well, Right, clinics also have a
role to play in this, and that you can connect
(33:31):
and partner with organizations that have those resources, right, Like
make sure that you're not just an isolated clinic that
only focuses on just the clinical You have to partner
with organizations. So if you're in a space like I
am in a community health center where you understand that
(33:51):
you're funding is kind of limited and you know that
you can't address all these issues The best thing you
can do for your patients is partner. Find partners who
will help you address the other non clinical aspects that
contribute to the statistics that we're talking about.
Speaker 15 (34:08):
As an OBGYN who works for Healing Hands Ministries, a
community based health care facility in South Dallas, Texas, every day,
doctor Rebo sees the underlying issues influencing Black maternal health outcomes.
Speaker 5 (34:21):
She is aware that.
Speaker 15 (34:21):
Some of those outcomes include the death of a mother
who dies while in the hospital, still under the watch
of medical professionals, after delivering her baby.
Speaker 16 (34:31):
Often the time, like the scenario you just described is
not an isolated event, is not an isolated incident. This
is like a repetitis pattern that usually happens among the
African Americans. It's like when you have a complaints like, well,
maybe it's just gas, maybe it's just sleep deprivation, maybe
it's just this. Well, we need to start changing the
(34:52):
rhetoric here, We need to start changing our mindset and
our approach to care that common illnesses do not present
the same way across ethnic backgrounds. Right, and when we
go to medical school, the things we're taught is in
a context of not an African Americans in a context
of like a white person, and so when you then
(35:15):
start treating a black person, do you have the frame
of reference? Do you know how it presents in this population? Right, Like,
it's not uncommon for you to open a textbook and
you're showing your rash. Well, the rash is on a
white skin, but then when it's on my skin, what
does it look like?
Speaker 5 (35:35):
So when you.
Speaker 16 (35:36):
See the same rash on someone that looks like me,
can you identify it? Kind of like addressing those unconscious biases.
Speaker 17 (35:44):
That we don't even know we bring to the care
because I truly want to believe that a physician doesn't
spend over a decade of their life training to then intentionally.
Speaker 16 (35:57):
Be biased against one group.
Speaker 11 (35:59):
I would like to.
Speaker 16 (36:00):
Believe in humanity that like when we take the hypocritic, oh,
it means something that we're not intentionally doing this, but
the reality the statistics is we are, and so what
do we do about it?
Speaker 15 (36:15):
That's interesting because these depths to are cutting across socioeconomic lines, right,
So sometimes you want to say, well, is it a
matter of you know, just being limited by the amount
of tests that their insurance will allow and so forth.
But We're looking at women from across all socioeconomic levels
that are being subjected and actually dying. So how do
(36:36):
you get before these educators in these institutions to allow
and encourage change in the way that these exercises are
lessons are taught so that they can become more sensitive.
I mean, how do you sensitize a professional to these
issues that could save the lives of black moms.
Speaker 16 (36:57):
We have to address it before you become a physician.
We have to address it in the policies that we
make and how we do our medical education. We have
to address it in our const rooms well before you
are in the world practicing as an independent practitioner. And
so that is going to be again, it's going to
(37:17):
take all of us. It's going to take me, it's
going to take you. It's going to take policy. It's
going to take our current practitioners. It's going to take
our policy makers. It's going to take our school administrators.
It's going to take black moms and black people speaking
up and like hey, like where am I in your textbook?
Like where are where are we in? Like the education
(37:38):
that you're providing to your students, to your learners.
Speaker 15 (37:41):
Yeah, you know you say that, and I'm automatically reminded
of the era in which we are in socially, where
we are now seeing this pushback against any kind of
education that distinguishes any kind of racial difference and so forth.
How likely are these changes is then, considering this current
(38:01):
political and social climate, how likely are these changes to
take place?
Speaker 16 (38:06):
I want to be optimistic to say that the disparity
that we see in the African American or the Black
maternal mortality rate, it's not coincidence. It's not a reflection
of politics. This is real life. This are real people,
and we know the black mom is an anchor. She
(38:29):
is more than just a woman in her society. She
is the mama in chief of her community. And so
a decision to become pregnant should not be marred with
the possibility of mourning. This is real life. This is
real life. This is real life. And when a woman,
when a black woman is missing from her household, you
(38:52):
change the entire trajectory of her family or her community.
The fabric is not the same. And so when you
pull up the statistics and you know that the average
maternal mortality rate in America is eighteen per one hundred thousand,
but the black woman is fifty per one hundred thousand.
You can't argue with that. This is not talking about
(39:15):
diversity equate an inclusion. This is real life. This is
not trying to pick out race. This is real life.
And so I would hope that you know in our
current political climate that everyone is invested in reducing the
maternal mortality rate. And you cannot reduce the maternal mortality
without reducing the blank maternal mortality rate, because that is
(39:39):
the huge piece that is skewing it to be in
a high number. I mean, when you think about the
amount of money that we as a country spending healthcare,
and then you think about our outcomes, I mean, everyone
should be invested in that because the amount of money
doesn't equate the result we're getting. Among industrialized countries and
(40:04):
high income countries, the United States is at the bottom
and yet to spend the most. So if we're in
an error where we're talking about efficiency and reducing waste
and abuse and trying to be more efficient, what is
a more efficient way than targeting the high priority areas.
Speaker 15 (40:24):
What is the perfect team for a woman who is
pregnant looking to make it through her maternal journey. What
checklist can you provide for her to at least prepare
for best outcome.
Speaker 16 (40:39):
That's a topic that I talk about very very often
with my team, and again it is multidisciplinary. Right well,
before pregnancy, we need to make sure that all of
our medical comorbidities are sort of optimized. So your journey
to a healthy pregnancy and postpartu period starts with your community.
(41:03):
It starts at the community. It starts with the kind
of food you're eating, the quality of air that you're breathing, right,
like all these things that has nothing to do with
the pregnancy. That's why it starts. And then you need
access to care, your good primary care to make sure
that your hypertension and your diabetes is well controlled, well
(41:24):
before we even talk about pregnancy. And then we need
to make sure that if there's any other COMORBIDITYES that's
in the picture, is there any psychiatric component, like any
mental health. I'm making sure that your children have access
to care while you're coming to your visit. So all
of that starts before pregnancy, because not often do you
(41:46):
see women in pregnancy like I'm sorry, I know you're
saying that you recommend me going to the hospital, but
I have two other children and I don't have help,
and like when I come to my medical appointments, I
don't know where to keep the kids. And then we
also talk about clinic policies, like when I started, if
my clinic children weren't allowed, and I'm like, pregnancy is
(42:11):
a family affair, Like how can you expect her to
come to clinic appointments when we don't provide childcare? And
then we say children are not allowed. So what does
a team look like? The team looks like providing all
of those ausureties and securities for our to pregnancy. And
then when you call me to pregnancy, meeting them where
they are ensuring that at that first visit that you're
(42:32):
not just focused on the clinical but you're focused on
the woman as a whole. Make sure you're doing some
sort of social determinants of health assessment. And that's where
your community health workers, your clinic navigators coming to place.
Now the clinician is not even in the picture yet.
This is like another part of the team ensuring that
all of that's happening. And then when the clinician comes
(42:55):
into the room, making sure that you have like a
good clortified a provider that's qualified to take care of
that woman, whether that's a physician in OPJYN, whether that's
a midwife or another practitioner. And then as we go
into the hospital, then you have another set of providers
there that's taking care of you in the postpartum period.
(43:15):
You need to make sure that your mental health providers
are part of that. Whether a woman has overt depression
or not, the immediate postpartum period is a lot of
emotions and anxiety and so just making sure that you
have a team that checks it. If not for anything
to say, Mom, how are you doing mentally right? I'm
(43:35):
not saying that she needs to be hospitalized or needs
to be in medication, but it needs to be a
component of mental health in the postpartum care.
Speaker 15 (43:44):
What should an expecting mom or even a conceiving mom
look for in a healthcare provider?
Speaker 16 (43:50):
Oh, you need to look for a partner. You need
to have a partner that understands that your pregnancy journey
is ten months long, right, and like in that ten months,
we need to build in not relationship that you can
tell me things that you think has nothing to do
with this, because the moment I hear that, oh you're
walking to clinic, and it's just like, oh, like, what
(44:11):
was bothering me today was like when I try to
catch the boss, I missed the boss, and so I'm like,
I'm like, okay, right, you think we're just chatting, but
now the next thing we're going to talk about is
how we're going to make sure that that doesn't happen again.
And then when you have any questions, knowing that like,
there's no question too silly, no question too big that
(44:32):
we can't talk about.
Speaker 15 (44:34):
If you could talk to anyone in the whole circle
of people involved the network involved with maternal health, in
particular Black maternal health, who would you speak to most
and what message would you give to them?
Speaker 16 (44:50):
I would speak to the physicians more, the providers more,
because I think that often at times, and it's not
our fault. He's the way we're try In school. You're
trained to be so clinically based and clinically focused that
we don't spend enough time talking about the person that's
(45:10):
at home. It's like, Okay, you have hypertension, and this
is the medicine done right. There's no room for like
understanding the circumstance around that and often at times that's
whole pushing patients away, is that it come to you
and like sometimes you know every're looking at the patient.
You look at their vitals, like your blood pressure is
really high today, you need to go to the hospital.
(45:31):
This is the medicine and done. But you didn't stop
to think about that they have all the kids. You
didn't start to think about what's going to happen when
you're in the hospital for two days. And when the
woman says, I can't go to the hospital because of
my other kids. What are you documenting in your chart?
Are you putting the word non compliant? Take a moment
and let there be enough grace. Let there be aeno
(45:55):
grace to go around. I'm trying to see the patients
from from where there's and what they have to offer
apart from just the clinical So I would speak to
my counterparts more because I think that we oftentimes have
the power to change a narrative around patients. How you
document matters because the next doctor who reads that note
(46:17):
is going to then forge that opinion about that patient
before they ever meet them. And so when they call
me the room, they're like before the patient's like, oh,
I'm sorry. I kind of like, okay, no where sign
out against medical advice, right, and so then that just
gets perpetrated over and over and over again.
Speaker 15 (46:34):
It is a dangerous cycle that is costing lives and
wounding families. We'll share such a heartbreaking story and our
next report. I'm Andrea Coleman on the Black Information Network.
Speaker 4 (46:45):
Thanks Andrea. We will have that report and many more
throughout the summer. Please visit binnews dot com to learn
more about the campaign. Also look for updates on our
social media platforms. And this week's The Color Between the
Lines here from a young author, Bellin Woodard, who is
on a mission to get others to be more inclusive
(47:06):
in the world of dance. The Black Information That Works
Esther Dillard has more.
Speaker 5 (47:14):
In this edition of The Color Between the Lines.
Speaker 18 (47:16):
We shouldn't just settle on something just because, and so
when that one studio told me Wallace tradition, we can't
change in the tradition, I was like, well, okay, then
I'm going to find a studio who recognizes that way
to grow.
Speaker 19 (47:29):
If I'm speaking with return author Bellin Woodard. The first
time I spoke with her, she was nine years old
and she had launched a book called More Than Peach.
It was about getting crayons that were more than peach
to represent different skin tones when you're trying to draw
on a piece of paper or color and a coloring book. Well,
that idea turned into a line of crayons and a
(47:53):
big business. Now she's eleven and she's put out a
new book called Balant Brown, and she's talking to me
about that. Let's listen in Well, your book Ballet Brown
is really based on.
Speaker 5 (48:05):
Your own experience as a young.
Speaker 19 (48:07):
Dancer searching for ballet and a costume for your ballet
based on your skin tone. Can you share with me
what was that moment like when you realized that you
couldn't find one and what inspired you?
Speaker 5 (48:23):
I guess to write about it in a story like this.
Speaker 18 (48:27):
So what inspired me to write Ballet Brown as a
story is that, Well, I started ballet when I was
two years old, and at first there weren't any dress code.
There wasn't a dress code really because we are so tiny.
But then eventually, as you get a little bit older,
eventually you have to be put into pink tights and
(48:48):
pink shoes and pink everything. And I kind of I
started thinking to myself, well, it doesn't look like my
legs belong to me, Like my legs are pink, but
the rest of the rest of me isn't pin and
this doesn't match. And so I was like, okay, So
first of all, why pink? Why do we wear pink?
And so I started researching why ballet pink? And that
(49:12):
is the term that's used with the pink tights, big shoes.
Speaker 20 (49:16):
The color is ballet pink.
Speaker 18 (49:17):
So I started researching why and I found out that
when ballet originated in Europe, the pink was used to
elongate the European dancers lines and make them look elegant
and beautiful on stage, and it did do exactly that.
But since then, since many beautiful colors have been added
into the world of ballet, the pink doesn't give the
(49:40):
same effect for every single skin tone like it does
for the light skin tones. And so I feel like
we need to evolve with with We're evolving, and so
the tradition, the traditions need to evolve with us.
Speaker 20 (49:54):
And so that's why I decided to.
Speaker 18 (49:56):
Not only name my new book Ballet Brown, but Ballet
Brown isn't just my book, but it's also a new
term that I have coined, and a new mindset that
I want to promote, saying that trying to normalize equivalent
options for everybody and so that our spaces can be
whole and somewhere where we can grow and thrive.
Speaker 19 (50:18):
I like your book because I get I got a
chance to read it all the way through, and I
saw that when you started to talk about this with
some of your instructors, some people were not as receptive.
Speaker 5 (50:30):
What was that like?
Speaker 20 (50:32):
So that's so it was a real experience. And as
I was saying, like, with.
Speaker 18 (50:37):
The traditions, a lot of the responses are always just
it was a tradition. But we've grown so much since then,
and traditions shouldn't traditions are There's always room to grow
in traditions, and so we shouldn't just settle on something
just because. And so when that one studio told me, well,
it was a tradition, we can't change up the tradition,
(50:59):
I was like, well, okay, then I'm going to find
a studio who recognizes that we need to grow and so,
and that's exactly what I did. I walked away and
I found a studio that appreciated that was willing to
grow and appreciate it, and it was already growing, and
that was willing to be able to incorporate the brown
and the other colors, I mean not even just brown,
(51:20):
just other colors into this world of dance in.
Speaker 19 (51:24):
Ballet I know that more than Peach. That was your
first book and project, and it's changed a lot of
kids' minds and adults' minds on how to look at
just colors and skin tones. And how has Ballet Brown,
I guess, continued that mission of this, this.
Speaker 5 (51:45):
Whole more than Peach project.
Speaker 18 (51:48):
So when I first started, after I wrote the book
more than Peach, after I wrote the book more than Peach,
after I started my business, and after I made the crayons,
because the crowns came first, But after I saw a
big of an impact more than Peach made, and how
many people actually listened, I was like, well, since I
have this voice and people are and people are listening
(52:10):
and want to listen, then I want to do the
same with Ballet Brown, because I feel like this is
also needed and it's not even all just about brown
shoes and brown ties. This is just about creating equivalent
options for everything and for everyone, and not even just
in ballet or dance, just for things across the board
and so so yeah, creating Ballet Brown was just I
(52:35):
knew that I wanted to make this change again, and
since I had already made this change once, I wanted
to make a new change.
Speaker 19 (52:45):
What kind of responses have you gotten from other kids
and other parents who have picked up this book and
know about your mission, especially with Ballet Brown.
Speaker 18 (52:54):
I've been promoting the idea though for months and all
of that, but I've gotten in resk is saying like,
when I first started my child out in ballet, I
didn't know the pink actually had a history. I thought,
and that's that's common, missus misconception that the pink is
just a cute little color for the kids to wear.
(53:14):
But it it's really interesting to see how to see
the responses saying, oh, well, I actually learned something new,
and I'm so excited to start my little girl out
in the in the brown or skin color tights because
now I do know the history. And that's that's definitely
that was my That's definitely something that's this that shows
(53:37):
what changes is already making without the book even being out.
Because when I started, like people my age when they start,
they didn't know about it and they didn't know about
this history. And so now going into the new generations
and hopefully they start out with this knowledge.
Speaker 5 (53:54):
I'm wondering when you went back. I'm just going back
in this.
Speaker 19 (54:00):
Story and how when you were given the option by
someone you picked up the tights that were different color
and you had to change them, you had to actually
color them. How did that all go come about? How
did what did you learn about that process? And was
that difficult? And just kind of bring me through that
(54:22):
whole process of doing that. So that process is called pancaking.
Speaker 18 (54:27):
You actually do it to your shoes because the brown ties,
I mean a lot of they're available for other dance
styles too as well, but the ballet shoes are specific
for ballet. So a lot of the time. Professional ballerinas
do this a lot. But they do something called pancaking,
which is where you take a makeup or make a sponge,
whatever you need, and you put foundation on it, your
(54:48):
foundation color, and you dab it on the shoes.
Speaker 20 (54:50):
You basically paint the shoes and yourself.
Speaker 18 (54:53):
And when I first did that, I did that to
my first pair of point shoes because they didn't have
the brown a bail, so I had to kind of
make my own point shoes.
Speaker 20 (55:02):
I just got a pink pear and painted over it.
Speaker 18 (55:04):
But I ended up actually ruining my shoes because I
didn't know how to do it, and point shoes are
not something you play about. And by the time I
ordered a new pair, they were too small because it
came so late.
Speaker 20 (55:16):
And it's just so it's it's.
Speaker 18 (55:20):
Still kind of amazing to see how it's still not
that accessible even as we've grown so much, and like
you can walk in easily and buy a pair of
pink shoes, but the brown shoes are kind of like
a needle and haystacks sometimes and kind of like a
hit or miss. You never know if when you go
into get fitting if you're actually gonna find your pair
(55:40):
or actually going to leave with the pair.
Speaker 19 (55:42):
So do you think that manufacturer should go in on
doing a deal with Bellin and do a ballet brownin?
Speaker 20 (55:54):
I think I think that's perfect.
Speaker 18 (55:55):
I mean, I've seen there's there are like brands that
do have like separate lines of the ballet shoes, but
I feel but not every brand has has the color
the different colored ballet shoes and that's something we need.
Speaker 5 (56:12):
You know, I'm thinking about it.
Speaker 19 (56:14):
You know, I'm kind of like always try to think
outside the box.
Speaker 5 (56:17):
And you know, like you know how some people pick the.
Speaker 19 (56:19):
The the the color and they pick a chick lit
of the color on online and you can pick exactly
what you want. That was an availability for someone. Then
they could pick the exact top and then order it
and then get whatever tone that they want, and it
like make up, you know, you could pick up your
own your tights.
Speaker 18 (56:39):
And it's so hard because like there's some there's so
many different foots, like you get when you can get
point shoes, you get fitted, and my feet are very weird,
and so it's so hard to get my perfect fit.
But only but different brands have different types of shoes,
if that makes sense. So not every brand will fit
your foot, and so it can be difficult when even
(57:01):
the brand that does fit your foot doesn't even to
carry skin color different skin tones.
Speaker 20 (57:06):
So yeah, it's difficult.
Speaker 19 (57:09):
What's your overall message for this book to other readers
and what do you want them to come away with?
Speaker 18 (57:15):
So I think it's really important that the parents dores
are kid out in ballet on the right foot because
it just creates no there's no disconnet from the very beginning,
and when they go to their first little ballet recital,
then they can already feel have the same effect the
elegated or elegant elongated lines and never have to even question,
(57:40):
why do my legs not look like they.
Speaker 20 (57:42):
Belong with me?
Speaker 18 (57:43):
So yeah, I think it's very important to just make
sure they start out feeling.
Speaker 20 (57:51):
Feeling like included.
Speaker 18 (57:54):
Yeah, feeling included and feeling like they look good on stage.
You don't have to stay. Like, the most powerful thing
you can do is walk away, and that's exactly what
I did, because there is somewhere waiting for you that
will welcome you with open arms, and somewhere that is
willing to grow.
Speaker 20 (58:08):
And that's exactly what I got when I walked away.
Speaker 18 (58:11):
Now I'm at a studio and I love my studio
and it's continuing to grow. And yeah, and I of
course know nowhere is perfect, but you know there they
realize that and they're ready to They're ready.
Speaker 20 (58:25):
So yeah, so you don't.
Speaker 18 (58:28):
Have to stay, don't have to accept it just because
and really challenge your curiosity, because if I hadn't started
researching why we wore the pink tights. Maybe I was
hoping pink tites to this day, and so yeah, challenge
your curiosity and really challenge that pushing that status quo.
Speaker 19 (58:47):
I want to say congratulations on your new book. Thanks
so much for joining us on the BI N.
Speaker 18 (58:52):
Thank you so much. I was so this is such
an amazing experience.
Speaker 19 (58:56):
If this conversation moved you, I invite you to subscribe
to the Color Between the Lines podcast on YouTube, iHeartRadio,
or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 4 (59:05):
Thanks Esther and Bellan, and that's our show for this week.
For more on these stories, listen to the Black Information
Network on the free iHeartRadio app or log onto binnews
dot com for all of the latest news impacting the
black community. Also, be sure to follow us on social
media at Black Information Network and on X and Blue
(59:26):
Sky at black Info Net and make bi in first
on your car radio and iHeartRadio app presets. I'm Mike Island,
wishing everyone a great Sunday, and be sure to tune
in next week at this time for another edition of
the Black Perspective right here on the Black Information Network
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